Friday, January 4, 2013

Wirelessly shooting Nikon D4 photos to your iPad

No Canon transmitter for this shoot, so I had to go wired!

Over the past few years, the coolest "techie" thing that I do on set is to shoot wirelessly from my Nikon camera to the iPad. It really is a simple thing, but it really draws in the client and art directors. Allowing the creatives to see the images in real time is a great way to communicate your visual ideas. You know if you are on the same page and can immediately  make changes if necessary.
Since I shoot both the Nikon D4 and D800, I use the Nikon WT-4 wireless transmitter. (The new WT-5 transmitter only works with the D4). I know that the settings are confusing, but I will try to explain it as simply as possible. You can even just copy down my settings if you want!




For my setup, you will need:


  • Nikon D4 (or similar Nikon body)
  • Nikon WT-4 transmitter, USB cable to camera
  • iPad (I am using the Retina display iPad 4)
  • Shutter Snitch (available in the App Store)


Step 1:
When the WT-4 is attached to the Nikon camera, you can create and edit the settings for the transmitter under the SETUP MENU / NETWORK.


Network/MODE/Transfer Mode
Choose "FTP registration" (Create a profile. I named mine Nikon ad hoc)

Wireless:
SSID: nikon (this is the wireless network your iPad will connect to)
Connection mode: Ad Hoc
Channel: 8
Authentication: open
Encryption: None

TCP/IP:
Obtain Automatically IP 
Address: 192.168.003.104 
MASK: 255.255.255.000
Use gateway: yes check it
ADDRESS: 192.168.003.001 
Enable DNS: no

FTP:
Target server address: 192.168.3.101 (this is the IP address you use for your iPad)
Target Folder:
Port: 26000
PASV mode: no don't check

Login name: snitch  (this is the Shutter Snitch username/password)
Password: *****
Proxy Server: no

Under the transfer settings:

Autosend: ON
Delete after send: OFF
Send file as: JPG
(Of course, you can change these as you need. This is what I generally use) 


Make sure to click OK when done - If you don't, the settings will not be saved. 




iPad wifi setup screen
Step 2:
Now, on your iPad, you will connect to the "nikon" wireless network that you just set up. The iPad's IP address for "nikon" should be : 192.168.3.101.

Step 3:
Open Shutter Snitch on the iPad. Make sure that you have the correct Username and Port number as you set in the D4 setup menu. (when you first opened Shutter Snitch, it asked you to set a username/password. If you forgot it, delete the app and reinstall. This time, write down what you set!
Shutter Snitch option screen
Now, create a "collection". You need to be inside a collection in order for the images to transfer to the iPad. The IP address and the port number will flash briefly when you are inside a collection. Make sure they match up with your camera settings



Step 4: 
Verify that you are connected. Check the SETUP MENU / NETWORK on the Nikon body. If the "nikon ad hoc" is highlighted in GREEN, you are connected! Hooray. Shoot your photos!








Accessories:
Wallee connect system
Another question I get is how to connect the iPad to the C-stand. I use the Tether Tools Wallee system. You will need to buy the Wallee Case, Wallee Connect and a Matthews F830. The cases are specific for each generation of iPad, so make sure to buy the right one.

http://www.tethertools.com/plugging-in/wallee-ipad-modular-case/


I hope that this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I know that the new Nikon D600 comes with a $50 transmitter. That sounds awesome, but I do not have that camera yet. Maybe it'll be easier to set up than the WT-4. Unless Nikon makes a very inexpensive wireless transmitter for the professional bodies, I will continue to use this set up.

UPDATE: If you have successfully set up the wireless system there is a chance that it will not work when you try it again. If this happens to you, log out of your "superuser" in Shuttersnitch and log back in. That seems to solve my issues.





23 comments:

  1. Hi Mack,

    This is great news!

    For over a year i am looking for a solution to tether > Nikon D700>Ipad-(4)
    Now i am able to by a (secondhand) Nikon WT-4.

    Do you know of this combination works?,............>Nikon D700>WT-4>IPad-4?

    I know i need Nikon Camera Control 2 also

    Hope to hear from you!

    Hope the english is readable for you,..this post comes from a Nikon man from Amsterdam!

    WR, Tom


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I used to shoot the D700 with the WT-4 to the iPad. It should work just fine!
      That set up does the same thing as the D4 set up, just shoot images wirelessly to the iPad using the ad-hoc network from the WT-4

      I do not use the Nikon Camera Control. Good luck. Email if you have more questions.

      Delete
    2. Hi Mack,

      Tnx for your reply!

      Again,..This is great news!
      This 'Queeste' took about a year to find out how to shoot with a Nikon 700 to a Ipad with, or without a wire.
      A first thought i had found something ,..the Eye-Fi card,..but this is only available in SD an not in Flash.
      And the Eye-Fi solution seems to be pretty slow also.

      After i read your blog i bought a little used WT-4 for a good price!

      Next step is the Ipad-4 , (maybe the 5 if it is significant better), download shuttersnatch and then testing out the whole project!

      Nice to know that i can mail you with questions about this all!!

      Ciao, Tom

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's something really interesting stuff, Preston. Thanks for the steps :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great article. I just got the wt-5 just for this purpose, but i am having issues getting it to transfer images. it says it is connected but no images so up in shuttersnitch collection. your settings are different then the wt-4 set up numbers on shuttersnitchs website. How did you get these numbers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got this to work using this as a guide.
      http://www.robgalbraith.com/multi_page6883.html?cid=7-10055-10851-10889

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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